6 pros and cons of the Carolina Panthers signing free-agent DeAndre Hopkins

Con No. 2

Carolina Panthers have more urgent needs

After trading D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears in order to move up to the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers had a dire need at wide receiver. They responded by signing Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, and Damiere Byrd while also drafting Jonathan Mingo in the second round with the No. 39 overall selection.

While there is no such thing as too many weapons for an NFL offense, it is safe to say that Carolina has adequately addressed the wide receiver position heading into the 2023 season.

The Panthers might have shored up their wide receiving corps, but there are still other needs on the roster. Adding another edge rusher and more depth in the secondary should be priorities above more skill-position players.

With defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero bringing in his 3-4 defensive scheme, Carolina would do well to add another pass-rushing edge such as Yannick Ngakoue or Jadeveon Clowney to complement Brian Burns and company. Meanwhile, the Panthers' secondary could use better depth behind Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson, who have missed a combined 29 games over the last two seasons.

This is not to say that the Panthers do not have the space to bring on DeAndre Hopkins. In fact, the opposite is true.

Carolina currently has the second-most cap space in the league behind only the Chicago Bears. Only 6.11 percent of the Panthers' cap space is currently allocated to the wide receiver position, the fourth-lowest percentage in the league.

Spotrac currently gives Hopkins a calculated market value of $23.2 million annually. This is nearly three times more than Carolina's current top earner at wide receiver.

While the Panthers could certainly afford to add Hopkins to their roster, their time and effort might be better spent pursuing players at positions of greater need.